I won’t spoil anything for those who are currently watching the TV show, Game of Thrones, (or reading the book it was based on) but many of you may have heard about the grim turn of events that happened towards the end of the first season that left some viewers  feeling dismayed, betrayed and yes, shocked. Some were even threatening to cancel (spoilers at that link) their HBO subscriptions over the kerfuffle. Today’s strip documents exactly how I reacted – or rather, how I wanted to react when this episode aired. It was such an inspired, tense, unexpected, “there’s no way they’ll do this” TV Event, that I wished I hadn’t read the book so I could’ve experienced that “surprise” as it happened. In fact, even as the episode was on approach, I was anxiously willing myself to forget whole chapters from the book but to no avail. Yes, it was shocking when I read it in the book, too, but the scene was so unexpected – especially considering what we’re used to in the Fantasy genre, and even more so on television – that I think there might have been more impact upon seeing it, rather than reading it. A truly rare occurrence, which speaks to the quality of the HBO series.

Don’t post any specific spoilers about the Game of Thrones series or novel in the comments, por favor. The HBO series and the A Song of Ice and Fire novels are pretty special and I wouldn’t want them ruined.

I remember when Michael Cornacchia (the Cornfather’s counterpart in “real life”) called me on his first day of shooting HBO’s Six Feet Under to let me know it was like stepping into my apartment when he walked onto that set. Unlike jefbot in today’s strip, I wasn’t sure whether or not to take that as a compliment when I found out the nature of his character’s demise. Note this was years ago, when Michael was still rocking the hair curl and the Power of Chub.

The first clip from Michael’s acting reel below shows the scene. Know that there’s some adult language if you’re under 17 or at work so view responsibly.